Big Brothers
by AllTheseRandomFandoms
Summary: Their brothers were always looking out for them, even right up to the big day. Five little shots pairing Tai, Kari, Matt, and TK.
1. Are You Ready?

Hello everyone! Thank you for your encouraging responses! I wasn't planning on expanding this one-shot, but crestoflight3's lovely review had me wondering, 'Even if I wanted to, how could I follow up on this story?' A half-an-hour later, four new ideas were born.

In case you were wondering, this first chapter is actually a new one, and the second is the original one-shot. I want the first four in the series in reverse chronological order, so I had to switch them. I'll upload each chapter as soon as I finish. Please let me know if you like them at all. Hope you enjoy! : )

* * *

_Tai wasn't sure if he was ready for this, but he could at least make sure that she was._

* * *

He knocked on the door three times before calling, "Hey Kari, it's Tai. Are you ready?" The rest of the bridal party was already in line down the hall. Sans one groomsman, they were all set to begin the walk down the aisle to the altar where TK was waiting.

"Almost. You can come in if you want," came the reply, more quiet than he expected.

Gesturing to everyone that 'he'd be right back, they'd just be a minute', he opened the door and stepped through.

"How do I look, Tai?" the bride asked as her big brother entered the dressing room. Kari stood in the middle of the room by an antique three-panel mirror. She put on a smile as she spun to face him, modeling every detail of her gorgeous wedding gown.

Honestly, the sight gave him mixed feelings, so Tai smiled back, "Great, Kari. You look great."

Kari delicately raised an eyebrow at him. "Great?" She tried not to giggle at the flat-sounding compliment. "Well, thank you. I'll be sure to tell Sora how all of her hard work designing my dress turned out 'great'," she teased, turning back to the mirror behind her.

"Oh no, don't tell her that!" Tai waved hastily. "What I meant is beautiful," he amended. "You look beautiful, Kari."

"Thanks, Tai," she grinned, but the expression fell away soon enough.

He frowned.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong," she answered, yet still troubled.

Silence.

"You scared, Kari?"

He watched her face on the glass.

"Not really."

She paused and thought about it. Then she added, "Although I can't seem to leave this room yet, so maybe?"

The big brother in him was scrambling to find any way to help. His little sister was scared, and it was his job to protect her. But what exactly would he be protecting her from here? What could he do? Before he could think of anything, she pressed on.

"How about TK, is he ready?"

Okay, so he could answer first. "He better be. I told him what accidents might strike him down if he messed up anything with you, today or ever in your lifetime," Tai wiggled his eyebrows, trying to lighten the mood.

Kari shook her head lightly. "You know, that didn't work the first time he came to pick me up. I highly doubt it'll have any effect now, especially after today."

"He was cowering in terror on your first date, just like he was today," Tai maintained, flexing his fingers.

Kari tilted her head and stared at him for a second. "TK's right. You do look like a skinny Goku when you're trying to threaten him," she observed.

Tai scowled. "I never liked that kid!"

She eyed his reflection in the mirror. "You love TK like a little brother and you know it. Of course, if you'd prefer, Davis is sitting in the second row. I'm sure he'd be absolutely thrilled to be the one standing at the altar with me," she offered innocently.

Good, she was joking now. He could do that, too.

Tai widened his eyes in horror at the idea, and then smirked and called her bluff. "Go ahead, I'm sure he would. At least that kid can keep up with me playing soccer," Tai muttered darkly. Kari rolled her eyes, so he added, "Hey, this wedding wouldn't be happening if I had challenged TK to a match when he asked me for your hand."

This time, Kari turned around to look at him, all joking aside. "What do you mean?" she wondered. "Did TK ask for your permission, too?"

Surprised that she wasn't already aware, Tai scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Was this supposed to be a secret? Well, if she wanted to know, it could only help. "Er, yeah, he did. Actually, he went to Dad first to get his blessing, then to get Mom's, and then he came for mine right after. TK didn't tell you?"

Kari blinked at the news, stunned. "Aww." She could feel water starting to gather in her eyes, so she blinked a little more. "No, he didn't mention that. Did he say why he had to ask you, too?"

"That's something I think you should talk to him about. But he did say he wanted to make sure he checked with the most important people in your life. 'The people you love and who love you the most.'" He was glad he made that list.

"Wow, that's- that's really sweet of him," she breathed out. "And you said yes?"

Tai had to grin now. Recalling the moment, he answered, "Well, he was shaking with nerves, and he had so much hope in his eyes that I couldn't shoot the poor kid down." Tai stepped forward and took Kari's hands, squeezing them encouragingly. His smile turned sincere as he said, "Besides, he takes good care of my little sister and makes her the happiest I've ever seen her. I couldn't really say 'no' to that."

"And Kari, I…" Tai shook his head, trying to figure out what he wanted to say. "When we were fighting the Dark Masters, when you were fighting the Digimon Emperor, it was digital world stuff and I could fight with you, protect you. Now, you're on your own adventure. I won't always know how to help you, but you know that I'll always try."

He could see Kari was trying not to cry, but a tear ran down her cheek as she let of go his hands to draw him in a tight hug.

"I love you, Tai," she whispered.

She pulled away still teary, so Tai joked, "Don't forget: The minute that kid steps outta line, I'll be there to help, so he better watch out." He punched one fist into his other palm.

Finally, he got a giggle out of her.

"So, are you ready?" Tai offered her his arm.

"Yes. Yes, I am." Kari looped hers around his as he escorted her to the processional line.

To everyone's relief, he gave a thumbs-up when they emerged from the dressing room. The music echoing from church softened to signal the start of the ceremony. Tai would be the first groomsman out the doors, so he needed to bring Kari to the back of the line with their father so he could join Mimi at the beginning.

"Tai, wait!" She clutched his arm before he could leave. "When you bring Mimi to the front, could you come back? Will you please walk me down the aisle, too?"

Tai looked at her. Her eyes were bright and excited, so she wasn't scared anymore. She just wanted her big brother anyways.

"Yeah, Kari. I'll be here for you."

"Thanks, Tai. You always are."


	2. Let's Go Get You Married

So, this is the original one-shot. Takes place half an hour before the first chapter.

* * *

_Matt had some final words to share with his little brother on this auspicious day._

* * *

"So you know," Matt started, "that if you mess this up, Tai's gonna kill you."

Standing at a full length mirror, TK paused to see Matt in the reflection, leaning against the door frame of the room. Then he continued to wrap a sleek black bow tie around his neck as he answered, "Yeah, he stopped by earlier. Not that he needed to - I got the full nine yards from Tai whenever I went to pick her up for a date." TK lined up the ends before twisting them around. "He, ahem, subtly cracks his knuckles and drops hints that he has ways of making me disappear. Then he widens his eyes maniacally, and I don't know if he knows this, but between that and his hair spiked out so far, he looks like a scrawny, crazy Goku. It's kind of funny to watch," he commented with a grin.

Looking away to imagine the moment, Matt chuckled. When he looked back over, he caught TK's eyes in the mirror. "All right, I just wanted to warn you. I also wanted to tell you that if that happens, and if you survive, you'll have to answer to me next."

TK froze in surprise for one second before laughing out loud the second after. Obviously Matt was trying to relieve any stress TK might be under, and the thought of his brother pinning his arms behind him while Tai winded up his fists to punch him in the gut was partially amusing. He resumed tying when he noticed Matt's face, blank, but serious.

Letting the bow unravel in his hands, he turned around curiously. "Uh, okay. Aren't you supposed to be my big brother?"

Matt left his spot by the door, walking over to TK. "I am. I promised you I always will be. I will help you tie a decent bow tie," he grabbed said item, tugged the ends together, then began twisting them around. "I will listen if you need to talk. I will cover up for you if you ask. And I will also," here he drew the bow tight around TK's neck, "kick your ass if you hurt Kari. She's," Matt paused, "well, she's Kari, and you're lucky to have her. I promised Tai a long, long time ago that I'd take care of her, but it still stands. I don't break my promises." He checked TK's eyes to make sure he understood. TK considered everything his brother said and nodded slowly.

Matt stepped back, nodding back. "Good. Now, I also have faith in you, little bro, so I trust it'll never come to that." He gave TK a once over, smirking. "That's the best you'll ever get. You ready?"

Taking a deep breath to shake off the surreal moment, TK loosened his tie and answered, "Ready."

"Good." Matt looked closer at TK's face. "What, did I scare my baby brother?" he teased.

"Nah, nope, I'm good. I just hope you weren't as inspiring when you talked to Kari," TK joked.

Then he looked at Matt skeptically. "Not that you… Did you say anything to Kari? You didn't, did you?" he tried. "Did Tai give her some weird talk, too? That actually would make me feel better."

Matt just smirked. "Let's go get you married."


	3. The Importance of Family Dinners

Thanks for your patience, everyone, and sorry for the delay! Here's chapter three, a moment between Kari and Matt. Kinda serious again, so I'm hoping the next one will be more fun.

* * *

_Even if she hadn't been able to read between the lines, Kari could tell this was a pretty big deal._

* * *

Kari grabbed her light pink coat, quickly shrugging into its long sleeves. She admonished herself for losing track of time; tonight was the weekly Kamiya family dinner, and if she was too late to help prepare it today, she should at least be there on time to the start the meal. Kari sighed. She'd just have to apologize and explain that her wedding errands took longer than she thought. Dad and Tai wouldn't call that an excuse for delaying them eating, but all would be forgiven by Mom, who would launch right into the subject.

Calling out a 'thank you and good night' to the Ishida household, she had just grabbed the handle of the front door when she heard Matt's voice.

"Hey, Kari? Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked, standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

Despite his casual tone, when she looked back at him, she could see whatever he had to say was important. Surprised and concerned, she nodded, deciding her family could wait just a little longer. She let go of the handle and followed him back into the kitchen. Matt headed to the pot boiling on the stove, picking up a cutting board of chopped vegetables from the counter beside it and adding them to the soup.

Kari stayed near the doorway. "Is everything all right, Matt?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He started to say something, but hesitated. Instead he asked, "You like the new dress design?"

Kari blushed over the topic. "Oh, yes, it's gorgeous. I know I said the first design looked 'great', but I didn't mean for Sora to redo the entire thing. " In case that was what he wanted to talk about, she expressed, "I hope my comment didn't stress her out."

Matt shook his head, "Nah, Sora's alright. She just wants to make sure you love it." He stirred the soup, filling the tiny room with a savory aroma. Deciding to go for it, he tried again. "So you and TK are finally getting married, huh?"

Kari smiled. "In two months." Then she tilted her head, unsure. "If …that's okay with you?" Oh no, she never did ask for his blessing directly, and for her, a big brother's opinion was just as important as their parents'…

"What? Oh, yeah, no, that's good. I was just- I want to give you something," Matt's response disrupted her concerns. She watched him pull a small binder off a shelf near the refrigerator. Flipping to a marked page, he slipped an old notebook page out of its cover sheet and handed it to Kari, saying, "Consider it an early wedding gift."

She looked at the paper, wrinkled with age, and read the title. "Is this…?"

"Yeah, that's the recipe for the steak my mom used to grill on Sundays. She gave it to me when Sora and I got married, and now I'm giving it to you." He replaced the binder on the shelf, then leaned back against the countertop between the fridge and the stove so he could keep an eye on his soup.

For a few seconds, the only noise in the kitchen was the bubbling pot of broth until Kari spoke up, sharing half of her thoughts.

"TK once said that he hadn't had this since… well, since before your parents divorced." _Since you were a whole family._

He looked back at her. "I think it's time you brought it back then." _Because you're family now._

Kari held the recipe close, touched.

Matt studied her eyes as she answered his next question. "So, do you think you'll be able to make it?" _Will you watch out for TK for me?_

She responded slowly at first, but emphatically. "Well, I've never grilled before, but I can cook. I can follow a recipe, and as long as TK likes it, I'll make it." _I promise. I'll take the best care of him._

"Great," Matt smiled, satisfied, and then cleared his throat. The pressure that had silently charged the air cleared up, too. "Anyways, you better get going. Tonight's when you and Tai eat dinner with your parents, right? Sorry I kept you longer; you can go ahead and blame me if you want."

Kari shook her head, "No, it's all right. This means a lot to me. Thank you, Matt." As she turned to leave, she thought to ask, "Will Sora mind that I have this recipe now?"

"Nah. She can't grill, and I, er, never got around to making it myself." _Too many bad memories._

"Ah," Kari nodded thoughtfully, but turned it into a smile. "Okay. Then one Sunday, you and Sora will have to join TK and me for steak." _And we'll make some good memories together._

Matt grinned at the invitation. "Sounds good to me."


End file.
